Ajeej Sarkaria could be a key for FC Edmonton to finally unlocking Cavalry FC and earning a win in the Al Classico Canadian Premier League provincial encounter.

The attacking midfielder has returned to Edmonton’s starting lineup and has been effective in his role of late.

“I started off slow in the season, I had a couple of poor performances, but I think I’ve been getting more confidence in training and (head coach) Jeff (Paulus) has always told me he believes in me,” Sarkaria said. “So I’ve been trying to focus on my game and trying to help my team get results. I think the good performances will come with it.”

A local product, Sarkaria, 24, came up through the FC Edmonton youth academy and eventually went on to play with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

In his travels trying to break into professional soccer, Sarkaria played three seasons with Foothills FC, who now make up the core of Cavalry FC, also coached by coach Tommy Wheeldon.

“I have a lot of really good friends on that team, I know Tommy and the coaching staff really well,” Sarkaria said. “So it gives me that extra motivation to want to beat them and have that bragging right over them.”

FC Edmonton is desperate for a win over Cavalry, having lost two of the first three games and tied the other. While still looking for his first goal, Sarkaria has generated plenty of offensive chances for his team.

“He had a couple of appearances early in the season and by his accounts they were not the best appearances that he’s had over the last couple of years, especially when you compare his U Sports performances,” Paulus said. “We made some changes in how we were playing and he fell out of the lineup a little bit, but he never once moaned or complained and sulked about it. He was consistently the hardest worker at training, he would stay and do extra.

“He earned his chance, he earned another call and he got it. He’s come from the U Sports environment, now it’s a different level and he’s just kept working at it and he’s earned his place back into the rotation.”